Device, system, and method of generating a customized trade article

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments include devices, systems and/or methods of generating a customized trade article. In one embodiment, a trade-article generator application is to receive trade information including a plurality of values of one or more trade-related parameters defining at least one trade with respect to at least one financial instrument, and to automatically generate a customized electronic trade article corresponding to the trade based on a predefined trade-article layout. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application is a Continuation application of U.S. Ser. No.14/156,670, filed on Jan. 16, 2014, which is a Continuation applicationof U.S. Ser. No. 13/611,013 filed on Sep. 12, 2012, which is aContinuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 12/357,463 filed on Jan. 22,2009, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,370,234 on Feb. 5, 2013, which inturn claims the benefit of and priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/006,582, entitled “Device, system and method ofgenerating a customized trade article”, filed Jan. 23, 2008, the entiredisclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Some embodiments relate generally to the field of financial instrumentsand, more particularly, to generating a trade article corresponding toat least one trade of at least one financial instrument.

BACKGROUND

Financial instruments can be categorized by form depending, for example,on whether they are cash instruments or derivative instruments. Cashinstruments are financial instruments whose value is determined directlyby markets. Derivative instruments are financial instruments, whichderive their value from some other financial instrument or variable.Financial instruments can also be divided into exchange-tradedderivatives and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

Sales and trading of financial instruments are often the most profitablearea of investment banking, responsible for the majority of revenue formany financial institutions such as banks or brokers.

In the process of market making, ‘traders’ (trading desk) will buy andsell financial products with the goal of making an incremental amount ofmoney on each trade.

A sales force, e.g., a Bank's or broker's sales force, may call on‘clients’ such as institutional and high-net-worth investors orcorporation to suggest possible trades and take orders. The term‘Structuring’ may relate to the creation of complex financial products,which embed derivatives, and as such typically offer much greatermargins and returns than underlying cash securities. Bank/broker Salesand structuring desks (commonly referred to as ‘Sales’) may thencommunicate their clients' orders to the appropriate ‘trading desks’ whocan price and execute trades, or structure new products that fit aspecific need.

There are various apparatus and processes allowing sales to communicatethe bank tentative or committed proposal for a possible transaction(trade) that is composed of one or more financial instruments, the tradeof which is to be transacted between the bank and the client or betweenthe client and a 3^(rd) party such as, for example, an exchange.

A trade idea may be used to communicate a proposal for a transaction ofa trade to a client. The trade idea is typically a quantitativemarketing document in the form of an electronic file or document, whichcan be displayed on a computer screen, processed and/or printed. Variousindustry-standard file types are used including Microsoft Excel,Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, HyperText Markup Language (HTML),Portable Document Format (PDF), Rich Text Format (RTF), and variousExtensible Markup Language (XML) coding. The content-type typicallyinvolves text (in various possible languages), diagrams (vectors) andimages (bitmaps).

A term sheet includes a more specific description of a transaction,which may be generated both before and after a trade transaction. Theterm sheet includes details such as payment dates, condition forpayments, and the like.

Conventional manual mechanisms developed by banks/brokers for manuallygenerating trade ideas and/or term sheets are specifically tailored forthat bank's needs, typically made ad-hock for each structure and hard tocustomize. Such conventional mechanisms generate rigidly defined tradeideas and/or term sheets, which are typically partial in theirfunctionality and coverage.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments include, for example, devices, systems, and methods ofgenerating, e.g., automatically generating, customized trade articles,e.g., including trade ideas and/or term sheets.

Some embodiments include a system including a memory having storedthereon trade-article-generator instructions; and a processor to executethe trade-article-generator instructions resulting in a trade-articlegenerator application, wherein the trade-article generator applicationis to receive trade information including a plurality of values of oneor more trade-related parameters defining at least one trade withrespect to at least one financial instrument, and to automaticallygenerate a customized electronic trade article corresponding to thetrade based on a predefined trade-article layout, wherein thetrade-article layout defines one or more sections to include one or morerespective content elements, wherein, based on one or more attributes ofthe trade, the trade-article generator application is to automaticallyselect, for at least one of the sections, a predefined content elementto be included in the section from a plurality of predefined contentelements corresponding to the section, and wherein the trade-articlegenerator is to generate the customized electronic trade articleincluding the at least one selected content element.

In some embodiments, the plurality of predefined content elementscorrespond to a respective plurality of trade scenarios, each tradescenario including a different combination of one or more attributesselected from one or more predefined sets of attribute types.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator is to select thecontent element corresponding to a trade scenario including at least thesame asset type and the same derivative-strategy group as an asset typeand a derivative-strategy group of the trade, respectively.

In some embodiments, the predefined sets of attribute types include atleast one of a predefined set of one or more asset-type attributes, apredefined set of one or more derivative-strategy group attributes, apredefined set of one or more derivative class attributes, and apredefined set of one or more transaction attributes.

In some embodiments, the set of asset type attributes includes at leastone of a foreign exchange asset, an interest rate asset, a credit asset,a commodity asset, and an equity asset.

In some embodiments, the at least one trade includes a structured tradeincluding a plurality of trades with respect to a plurality ofinstruments, and wherein the trade-article generator application is toautomatically select the content element to be included within thesection based on one or more attributes of the structured trade.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is toautomatically select the content element based on at least one of anumber of the instruments, an order of two or more of the instruments,and a type of one or more of the instruments.

In some embodiments, the memory has stored thereoncustomized-structuring instructions, wherein the processor is to executethe customized-structuring instructions resulting in acustomized-structuring application, wherein the customized-structuringapplication is to receive a plurality of strategy parameters definingstrategy requirements with respect to one or more financial assets,wherein the customized-structuring application is to automaticallydetermine at least one structured trade based on the strategyparameters, wherein the customized-structuring application is to providetrade information defining the structured trade to the trade-articlegenerator application, and wherein the trade-article generatorapplication is to automatically generate the customized electronic tradearticle corresponding to the structured trade.

In some embodiments, the hedging-scenario parameters include at leastone of a base currency, a currency to be hedged, a hedging date, amaximal allowed cost of the structured trade, and a maximal allowed lossresulting from the structured trade.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is toprovide a user with a plurality of predefined trade-article layouts, andto generate the customized electronic trade article based on a selectedtrade-article layout, which is selected by the user from the pluralityof layouts.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is toredefine one or more of the sections based on instructions received froma user.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is to allowthe user to perform at least one of rearranging a layout of theplurality of sections, formatting one or more of the sections, andmodifying the content of one or more of the sections.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is todefine one or more layout attributes of the trade-article layout basedon a predefined layout master page.

In some embodiments, the layout attributes include at least one of apage-orientation of the trade-article layout, one or more page marginsof the trade-article layout, one or more attributes of a header of thetrade-article layout, one or more attributes of a footer of thetrade-article layout, a language of the trade-article layout, and one ormore attributes of a logo to be included in the trade-article layout.

In some embodiments, the trade article includes a trade idea.

In some embodiments, the plurality of sections include at least one ofan outline section including an outline of the trade; a pricing sectionincluding one or more pricing parameters of the trade; an advantagessection describing one or more advantages of the trade; a disadvantagessection describing one or more disadvantages of the trade; at least onechart section including one or more charts corresponding to the trade; adisclaimer section including one or more disclaimers; and a summarysection including a summary of the trade.

Some embodiments include a system including a memory having storedthereon trade-article-generator instructions; and a processor to executethe trade-article-generator instructions resulting in a trade-articlegenerator application, wherein the trade-article generator applicationis to receive trade information including a plurality of values of oneor more trade-related parameters defining at least one trade withrespect to at least one financial instrument, and to automaticallygenerate a customized electronic trade article corresponding to thetrade based on a predefined trade-article layout, wherein thetrade-article layout defines one or more sections to include one or morerespective content elements, wherein at least one of the contentelements includes one or more placeholders to present the trade-relatedparameters, and wherein the trade-article generator is to generate thecustomized electronic trade article including the one or more contentelements by inserting the values of the trade-related parameters intothe one or more placeholders.

In some embodiments, based on one or more attributes of the trade, thetrade-article generator application is to automatically select from aplurality of predefined content elements corresponding to a section acontent element to be included within the section.

In some embodiments, the plurality of predefined content elementscorrespond to a respective plurality of trade scenarios, each tradescenario including a different combination of one or more attributesselected from one or more predefined sets of attribute types.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator is to select thecontent element corresponding to a trade scenario including at least thesame asset type and the same derivative-strategy group as an asset typeand a derivative-strategy group of the trade, respectively.

In some embodiments, the predefined sets of attribute types include atleast one of a predefined set of one or more asset-type attributes, apredefined set of one or more derivative-strategy group attributes, apredefined set of one or more derivative class attributes, and apredefined set of one or more transaction attributes.

In some embodiments, the at least one trade includes a structured tradeincluding a plurality of trades with respect to a plurality ofinstruments, and wherein the trade-article generator application is toautomatically select the content element to be included within thesection based on one or more attributes of the structured trade.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is toautomatically select the content element based on at least one of anumber of the instruments, an order of two or more of the instruments,and a type of one or more of the instruments.

In some embodiments, the memory has stored thereoncustomized-structuring instructions, wherein the processor is to executethe customized-structuring instructions resulting in acustomized-structuring application, wherein the customized-structuringapplication is to receive a plurality of strategy parameters definingstrategy requirements with respect to one or more financial assets,wherein the customized-structuring application is to automaticallydetermine at least one structured trade based on the strategyparameters, wherein the customized-structuring application is to providetrade information defining the structured trade to the trade-articlegenerator application, and wherein the trade-article generatorapplication is to automatically generate the customized electronic tradearticle corresponding to the structured trade.

In some embodiments, the strategy parameters include at least one of abase currency, a currency to be hedged, a hedging date, a maximalallowed cost of the structured trade, and a maximal allowed lossresulting from the structured trade.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is toprovide a user with a plurality of predefined trade-article layouts, andto generate the customized electronic trade article based on a selectedtrade-article layout, which is selected by the user from the pluralityof layouts.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is toredefine one or more of the sections based on instructions received froma user.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is to allowthe user to perform at least one of rearranging a layout of theplurality of sections, formatting one or more of the sections, andmodifying the content of one or more of the sections.

In some embodiments, the trade-article generator application is todefine one or more layout attributes of the trade-article layout basedon a predefined layout master page.

In some embodiments, the layout attributes include at least one of apage-orientation of the trade-article layout, one or more page marginsof the trade-article layout, one or more attributes of a header of thetrade-article layout, one or more attributes of a footer of thetrade-article layout, a language of the trade-article layout, and one ormore attributes of a logo to be included in the trade-article layout.

In some embodiments, the trade article includes a trade idea.

Some embodiments may provide other and/or additional benefits and/oradvantages including, but not limited to, trade term sheet, tradeagreement, trade summary, trade confirmations, trade reporting, tradereconciliations, trade settlements, help and training documents, and thelike.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in thefigures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to otherelements for clarity of presentation. Furthermore, reference numeralsmay be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogouselements. The figures are listed below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustration of a system inaccordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a trade article, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a content definition interfacetool, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart illustration of a method of generatinga customized trade article, in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a customized structuring interfacetool, in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a master page layout in accordancewith some demonstrative embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of customization of a master pageand/or trade idea in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments.

FIGS. 8A-12 are schematic block diagram illustrations of interfacecomponents and trade idea generation tools, in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments.

FIGS. 13-24 are schematic block diagram illustrations of interfacecomponents and trade idea generation tools, in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments.

FIGS. 25-31 are schematic block diagram illustrations of content elementdefinition interface tools in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments.

FIGS. 32 and 33 are schematic block diagram illustrations of interfacecomponents and trade idea generation tools, in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of some embodiments.However, it will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the artthat some embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, unitsand/or circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscurethe discussion.

Some portions of the following detailed description are presented interms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on databits or binary digital signals within a computer memory. Thesealgorithmic descriptions and representations may be the techniques usedby those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance oftheir work to others skilled in the art.

An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistentsequence of acts or operations leading to a desired result. Theseinclude physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, thoughnot necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical ormagnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined,compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times,principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals asbits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like.It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities.

Discussions herein utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing,”“computing,” “calculating”, “determining”, “establishing”, “analyzing”,“checking”, or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) ofa computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or otherelectronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform datarepresented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within thecomputer's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer's registersand/or memories or other information storage medium that may storeinstructions to perform operations and/or processes.

The terms “plurality” and “a plurality” as used herein includes, forexample, “multiple” or “two or more”. For example, “a plurality ofitems” includes two or more items.

Some embodiments may include one or more wired or wireless links, mayutilize one or more components of wireless communication, may utilizeone or more methods or protocols of wireless communication, or the like.Some embodiments may utilize wired communication and/or wirelesscommunication.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices andsystems, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, amobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, anon-board device, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehiculardevice, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, anon-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, awireless communication device, a wired or wireless network, a Local AreaNetwork (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN),a Wireless MAN (WMAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Wireless WAN (WWAN),a Personal Area Network (PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN), devices and/ornetworks operating in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11, 802.11a,802.11b, 802.11e, 802.11g, 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11n, 802.16, 802.16d,802.16e standards and/or future versions and/or derivatives and/or LongTerm Evolution (LTE) of the above standards, units and/or devices whichare part of the above networks, one way and/or two-way radiocommunication systems, cellular radio-telephone communication systems, acellular telephone, a wireless telephone, a Personal CommunicationSystems (PCS) device, a PDA device which incorporates a wirelesscommunication device, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)transceiver or device, a Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiveror device, a Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device,a device having one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas,a wired or wireless handheld device (e.g., BlackBerry, Palm Treo), aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types ofwireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, RadioFrequency (RF), Infra Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-DivisionMultiple Access (TDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet RadioService (GPRS), extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM),Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth®, Global Positioning System (GPS),Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee™, Global System for Mobile communication (GSM),2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, or the like. Some embodiments may be used in variousother devices, systems and/or networks.

Some demonstrative embodiments are described herein in the context ofgenerating a trade idea corresponding to a financial instrument, e.g., astock option. It should be appreciated, however, that some embodimentsmay be applied to other financial instruments and/or markets, andembodiments are not limited to stock options. One skilled in the art mayapply some embodiments to other financial instruments including, forexample, options and/or option-like instruments, other derivatives andnon-derivatives such as stocks or bonds, and the like. As and exampleoptions may include options on interest rate futures, options oncommodities, and/or options on non-asset instruments, such as options onthe weather, and the like, with variation as may be necessary to adaptfor factors unique to a given financial instrument.

Some demonstrative embodiments are described herein in the context of atrade idea. It should be appreciated, however, that some embodiments maybe applied to customize any other suitable trade article, for example, aterm sheet, a trade agreement, a trade summary, trade confirmations, atrade reporting, trade reconciliations, trade settlements, help andtraining documents, and the like.

Some demonstrative embodiments may be implemented or utilized by anysuitable financial institute, e.g., a bank, broker, and/or organizationinvolved with some aspect of financial instrument trading and/orprocessing.

Trade ideas and/or terms sheets are considered necessary in the processof marketing and selling of complex financial instruments. A trade ideamay present various challenges such as, for example:

-   -   1. There are a huge variety of possible financial instruments        and composed and/or structured trades, which may be very        complex. Standardizing and automating the creating, distribution        and/or management process can be very cumbersome;    -   2. New financial instruments and types of trades are frequently        added, and need to be supported in the Trade Idea;    -   3. Preparing a Trade Idea manually or semi-manually may take        hours and require a lot of expertise and effort, especially when        simulation is involved;    -   4. Graphical customization such as for colors, fonts and        file-type (Excel, Word etc.) as well as localization for        language, local regulatory and legal requirements and        conventions;    -   5. The saving, management and re-use/editing of an existing        Trade Idea—required for business or regulatory purposes—can be        cumbersome without an underlying dedicated flexible mechanism;    -   6. Each financial institute, e.g., bank and/or broker, has its        own marketing, branding, trading, risk management policies, so        the ability to consistently create and maintain        institute-specific customization must be provided; and/or    -   7. The environment is very competitive and dynamic and must        allow both the single sales person and the overall management to        initiate and react quickly to changing market and client        requirements.

As an overview, some embodiments include a method, device and/or systemof automatic generation and/or delivery of a specifically formatted,customized and/or styled trade article, e.g., a trade idea, for example,in the form of an electronic document which, for example, outlines indetail a proposal corresponding to a transaction of a trade composed ofone or more financial instruments; and/or a term sheet describingdetails, definitions, and/or terms of the transaction, e.g., paymentdates, conditions, and the like.

Some embodiments include a trade article generator application capableof automatically generating a customized trade article, therebyproviding a wide-scope, generalized, adaptable and/or customizablesolution for the automated generation of any type of trade article. Suchsolution may be required, for example, by practitioners such as salespeople or “structurers” in banks, e.g., in order to remain competitiveand serve their own clients.

In some embodiments, the trade article generator may automaticallygenerate a customized, specialized and/or appropriate trade articlebased, for example, on parameters predefined by an administrator and/oruser preferences. The trade article generator may allow partial or fullcustomization of the trade article, e.g., in aspects of branding,layout, style, content, and the like.

As described in detail below, in some embodiments the trade articlegenerator application may be capable of automatically determiningcontent to be included in one or mores sections of the trade articlecorresponding to a trade based on one or more attributes of the tradeand/or one or more user-related attributes, e.g., a predefined language.

As described in detail below, in some embodiments, the trade articlegenerator application may determine the arrangement and/or layout of thesections of the trade article based on a customized master page layout,which may be defined by one or more predefined users, e.g., anadministrator.

In some embodiments, the trade article generator may be implemented byany suitable financial institute, e.g., bank, broker, and the like, togenerate a customized trade article, e.g., trade idea and/or trade termsheet, corresponding to any suitable financial transaction to be offeredby the financial institute, e.g., by a sales force of the financialinstitute. The customization of the trade article may improve, forexample, an efficiency, productivity, sophistication, serviceability,and/or profitability of the sales force and/or financial institute.

In some embodiments, the trade article generator application may receiveas an input a parameterized description of the trade in any suitablecode, language, style, or format such as, for example, FinancialProducts Markup Language (FpML) or any other suitable format; relevantmarket condition parameters; and/or any suitable user customization,styling, formatting and/or production parameters.

In some embodiments, the trade article generator may generate one ormore output trade articles, e.g., including a trade idea and/or termsheet, which may be formalized as an electronic article, e.g., adocument or file, in industry standard formats such as Microsoft Excel,Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, HyperText Markup Language (HTML),Portable Document Format (PDF), Rich Text Format (RTF), and the like.The output formats may include human readable or machine-only readableformats. In one example, the trade idea document may contain analysis ofthe trade and, optionally, one or more other customized data,information, values and/or fields such as, for example, headers,footers, icons, company logo, graphs, description text in any supportednatural language, disclaimers, and the like, e.g., as described indetail below.

In some embodiments, the customized trade article may be composed ofmultiple sub components that can be customized by a user to fit anysuitable document layout, style and/or content, e.g., as describedbelow.

In some embodiments, the trade article generator may support clientmanagement, e.g., using archive, search and report capabilities as wellas the generation of marketing campaigns.

In some embodiments, the trade article may include a dynamic and/orinteractive file, e.g., when activated within a computing device, forexample, to allow a user to interactively and/or dynamically edit thetrade article, e.g., using suitable calculation capabilities.

In some embodiments, the trade article generator may generate anexecutable trade article, e.g., an executable trade idea and/or termsheet, having a format enabling dealing and/or execution, e.g., on-lineexecution of the transaction corresponding to the trade article.

In some embodiments, the trade article may be structured in a way thatwould allow sending the trade article over a computer network to atrading counterparty or to a trading hub such as an exchange, forexample, for the purpose of quoting or negotiating a price or executingan agreement to buy or sell the financial instruments included in thetrade article.

In some embodiments, the trade article may include a “clearing” tradearticle structured for the purpose of “clearing” an already executedtrade. The clearing” trade article may be structured, e.g., in contentand/or format, in a way that would allow sending the trade article overa computer network to the relevant party such as, for example, a tradingcounter-party, a clearing house, a custodian or a central counterparty(CCP) (an agency acting as buyer to market participant sellers, andseller to market participant buyers). The “clearing” may involve themanagement of post-trading, pre-settlement credit exposures, to ensurethat trades are settled in accordance with market rules, even if a buyeror seller should become insolvent prior to settlement. The “clearing”may include the operations of reporting/monitoring, risk margining,netting of trades to single positions, tax handling, failure handling,and the like.

In some embodiments, the delivery of the trade article may involve anyexisting delivery or messaging protocol public or proprietary includingwithout limitation File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP), HTTP secure (HTTPS), Fax transmission, electronic-mail(E-mail) and/or telephone transmission. In another embodiment, the tradearticle may be published on an internal or public website, and the like.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which schematically illustrates a blockdiagram of a system 100 in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments.

System 100 includes one or more user stations or devices 102, forexample, a PC, a laptop computer, a PDA device, a console, and/or aterminal, that allow one or more users to structure, price and/oranalyze a transaction of a financial instrument, and to generate acustomized trade article corresponding to transaction of the financialinstrument. The trade article may include, for example, a trade ideaand/or a term sheet, corresponding to any suitable trade, deal and/orstructure of any suitable financial instrument, e.g., derivatives assetclasses, Foreign Exchange (FX), Interest Rate, Equity, Commodities,Credit, and the like.

The user of device 102 may include, for example, a business analyst, acorporate structuring manager, a salesperson, a trader, a risk manager,a front office manager, a back office, a middle office, a systemadministrator, and the like.

Devices 102 may be implemented using suitable hardware components and/orsoftware components, for example, processors, controllers, memory units,storage units, input units, output units, communication units, operatingsystems, applications, or the like.

In some embodiments, system 100 may include a trade-article generatorapplication 129 capable of generating one or more customized tradearticles, e.g., trade ideas and/or term sheets, corresponding to one ormore trades defined by users 102, e.g., as described below.

System 100 may also include an interface 110 to interface between users102 and trade article generator application 129. Interface 110 mayoptionally interface between users 102 and one or more FI systems and/orservices 140. Services 140 may include, for example, one or more riskmanagement systems 142, one or more pricing services 144, one or moreanalysis services 145, one or more trading systems 143, one or moreexchange connectivity systems 148, one or more market data systems 149,and/or one or more other suitable FI-related services, systems and/orplatforms. Additionally or alternatively, interface 110 may interfacebetween trade article generator application 129 and any other suitablecomputing module, for example, an FI system a CRM system, an archive, anE-mail service, an HTTP service, an FTP service, an application, and/orany suitable module capable of providing, e.g., automatically, input totrade article generator application 129 and/or receiving a trade articlegenerated by trade article generator application 129, e.g., as describedherein.

In some embodiments, trade-article generator application 129 may beimplemented as part of FI systems/services 140 and/or as part of anyother suitable system or module, e.g., as part of any suitable server.

In some embodiments, trade-article generator application 129 may includea local or remote application executed by any suitable computing system113. For example, computing system 113 may include a suitable memory 117having stored thereon trade-article-generator instructions 119; and asuitable processor 115 to execute trade-article-generator instructions119 resulting in trade-article generator application 129. In someembodiments, computing system 113 may include a server to provide thefunctionality of trade article generator application 129 to users 112.In other embodiments, computing system 113 may be part of user station102. For example, trade-article-generator instructions 119 may bedownloaded and/or received by users 102 from another computing system,such that trade application generator application 129 may be executedlocally by users 102. For example, instructions 119 may be received andstored, e.g., temporarily, in a memory or any suitable short-term memoryor buffer of user device 102, e.g., prior to being executed by aprocessor of user device 102. In other embodiments, computing system 113may include any other suitable computing arrangement and/or scheme.

In some embodiments, computing system 113 may also execute one or moreof FI systems/services 140. In other embodiments, trade articlegenerator application 129 may be implemented separately from one or moreof FI systems/services 140.

In some embodiments, interface 110 may be implemented as part of tradearticle generator application 129, FI systems/services 140, and/or aspart of any other suitable system or module, e.g., as part of anysuitable server.

Interface 110 may be associated with and/or included as part of devices102. In one example, interface 110 may be implemented, for example, asmiddleware, as part of any suitable application, and/or as part of aserver. Interface 110 may be implemented using any suitable hardwarecomponents and/or software components, for example, processors,controllers, memory units, storage units, input units, output units,communication units, operating systems, applications. In someembodiments, interface 110 may include, or may be part of a Web-basedstructuring/pricing application, a web-site, a web-page, a stand-aloneapplication, a plug-in, an ActiveX control, a rich content component(e.g., a Flash or Shockwave component), or the like.

Interface 110 may be configured to allow a user to enter commands, todefine a financial instrument; to define and/or structure a transactioncorresponding to the financial instrument; to receive a pricing of thetransaction; to analyze the transaction; to customize a trade article,e.g., a trade idea and/or term sheet, corresponding to the transaction;and/or to otherwise control and/or analyze the user'sstructuring/pricing operations.

In some embodiments, interface 110 includes one or more trade articlegeneration interface tools 112, for example, one or more customizedtrade-idea and/or term sheet generation interface tools as are describedherein. Trade idea generation tools 112 may enable generation of tradearticles for trades in any suitable structuring, pricing, and/oranalysis product based, for example, on selected assets, option class,currency, current pricing, payments, notional and other relevant valuesthat can be manually added once the user decides to generate a tradeidea.

In some embodiments, system 100 may also include at least one database121, which stores data related to users 102, data related to one or moretrades defined by the users, and/or one or more customized trade articleconfigurations and/or layouts, e.g., as described herein. In oneexample, database 121 may store data related to previously generatedtrade articles, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, user 102 may define and/or structure at least onetrade (“deal”) with relation to at least one financial instrument. Forexample, user 102 may structure the trade using structure service 147via interface 110.

In some embodiments, user 102 may use interface 110 and/or tools 112 toinstruct trade-article generation application 129 to generate acustomized trade-article corresponding to the trade. In one example,trade article generation tools 112 may be accessible from a “salestools” button/menu of interface 110.

In some embodiments, trade-article generator application 129 may receivetrade information including a plurality of values of one or moretrade-related parameters defining the trade, e.g., from structureservice 147 and/or from pricing service 144. In one embodiment, tradearticle application 129 may receive an input including a parameterizeddescription of the trade, e.g., including a list of composing financialinstruments, typically expressed as a Financial Products Markup Language(FpML) structure, or the like. This may allow for utmost generality,coverage and extensibility of supported trades and financialinstruments. The input may include relevant market data values. Forexample, trade-article application 129 may receive from structureservice 147 a plurality of attributes of the trade. Trade articleapplication 129 may also receive from pricing service 144 one or morepricing parameters corresponding to the trade. Trade-article application129 may also receive user information corresponding to user 102, e.g.,as described below.

In some embodiments, trade-article application 129 may automaticallygenerate a customized electronic trade article, e.g., a trade ideaand/or term sheet, corresponding to the trade. The trade article may begenerated in any suitable format, e.g., Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word,Microsoft PowerPoint, RTF, HTML, PDF various XML codings, and the like.

In some embodiments, application 129 may generate the trade articlebased on a predefined trade-article layout, which may define one or moresections to include one or more respective content elements (alsoreferred to as “widgets”). The content elements may include differenttypes of content elements, for example, text, graphs, charts, and thelike. The content elements may be fully customizable for size, shape,style and/or actual content, e.g., as described below. One or moredefault content elements may be defined, including, for example, “optiondescription”, “advantages”, “disadvantages”, “scenario analysis”, “payout charts”, “pay out tables”, “historical charts”, “legal disclaimers”,and the like, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, application 129 may also create a record includinga XML standard definition or any other type of definition of the tradearticle, which may be used for further re-use, editing and/or archiving.For example, the XML definition may be stored in database 121.

In some embodiments, the attributes of the trade may be received from acustomized structuring (“look for strategy (LFS)”) application 183. Inone embodiment, memory 117 may have stored thereoncustomized-structuring instructions 187, and processor 115 may executecustomized-structuring instructions resulting in customized-structuringapplication 183. In other embodiments, customized-structuringinstructions 187 may be stored and/or executed by any other suitablecomputing device and/or server. For example, customized-structuringapplication 183 may be implemented as part of structuring service 147 orany other suitable system and/or service.

In some embodiments, customized-structuring application 183 may receivea plurality of strategy parameters defining strategy requirements withrespect to one or more financial assets. Customized-structuringapplication 183 may to automatically determine at least one structuredtrade based on the strategy parameters, and provide trade informationdefining the structured trade to trade-article generator application129.

Trade-article generator application 129 may then automatically generatethe customized electronic trade article corresponding to the structuredtrade. For example, user 102 may provide customized-structuringapplication 183 with her financial exposure with relation to one or morefinancial assets such as, for example, payments to pay or receivable toreceive in different currencies and dates, or interest to pay on debt indifferent currencies, consumption of material or fuel, and the like,e.g., using a suitable interface tool as described below with referenceto FIG. 5. Customized-structuring application 183 may determinesuggestions for hedging the exposure by various derivatives and/orhedging strategies, which may include several possible structures thatsatisfy some requirements that user 102 enters such as the cost of thestructure, the maximum loss vs. using forward or futures, and the like.Customized structuring application 183 may automatically provide the oneor more suggested customized structures to trade article generatorapplication 129, which may produce one or more trade articles, e.g.,trade ideas, analyzing the one or more suggested customized structures.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 maygenerate a “comparison” trade article comparing the different suggestedcustomized structures according to any suitable criteria such as, forexample, efficiency of the hedge in a wide range of exchange rates,interest rates, commodity prices, and the like.

In some embodiments, customized structuring application 183 may select acustomized structure from the different suggested customized structuresbased on suitable selection criteria, for example, defined by user 102using interface 100, e.g., as described below with reference to FIG. 5.Accordingly, applications 187 and 129 may automatically generate acustomized trade article corresponding to a customized structure definedbased on the financial strategy parameters and selection criteria.

In some embodiments, application 129 may generate the trade articlecorresponding to the customized structure based on a predefinedcustomized-structure trade-article layout. The customized-structurelayout may include, for example a “summary” section including contentsummarizing aspects of the customized structure; a “graph” sectionincluding one or more graphs corresponding to the customized structure,for example, a debt service cost graph corresponding to a hedgingstrategy structure, a performance profile graph corresponding to aninvestor strategy structure, and the like; a “description” sectionincluding content describing the customized structure; and/or any othersuitable section and/or content.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 may providea fully customizable solution to allow full life cycle for generatingand managing trade ideas and/or term sheets between financialinstitutes, for example, banks, brokers, and/or hedge funds, and theirclients.

In some embodiments, an administrator, for example, of a financialinstitute, e.g., a bank, broker and/or a hedge fund, may set up logo,legal disclaimer, banner, letter head, and/or any other suitableproperties of the trade article, as a shared brandable style to be usedby a set of defined users, e.g., sales people. Users 102 may edit and/orcreate content for different predefined content elements of the tradearticle, e.g., using tool 300 as described below with reference to FIG.3.

In one example, a financial institute, e.g., bank or broker, may want tooffer a transaction to a client, e.g., in response to a client requestand/or in order to promote a structure. User 102, e.g., a sales person,structuring specialist, and/or trader may model a proposed deal, e.g.,using structure service 147, customized structuring application 183and/or pricing service 144, e.g., as described above. Once user 102 iscomfortable with the deal configuration, user 102 may invoke tradearticle generator application 129, e.g., using tools 112.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 mayretrieve the structure's parameters and/or the user's customizationpreferences, and select the most appropriate content elements and laythem in a trade-article layout, e.g., a default layout. User 102 canthen preview the proposed trade article; change a layout by choosing adifferent layout or moving widgets around in drag and drop fashion;and/or fully edit any widget and change its content or style, e.g., asdescribed below with reference to FIGS. 8-12.

In some embodiments, once user 102 previews the proposed trade articleand is comfortable with it, user 102 can generate a trade idea and/orterm sheet and choose, e.g., using tools 112, an output format, e.g.,Word, RTF, PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, and the like; and/or a deliverymechanism, e.g., hard copy paper, mail attachment, attachment toSD-CHAT, posting the trade article on a web site, and the like.

In some embodiments, once user 102 receives the trade article, user 102can model the customized trade article, e.g., using interface 110. Ifuser 102 likes the resulting trade article, user 102 may then initiatean RFQ (Request for Quote) to the Bank and initiate an actual trade.Once a price is negotiated the deal is archived and can be floweddirectly to the bank's position and risk systems.

In another example, trade article generator application 129 may be usedfor post-trade analysis. A user, e.g., sales person, head of desk etc.,may search through database 121 and analyze which trade ideas generatedtrades and which did not. The user can also analyze client patterns andcross-reference them with revenue from clients.

In another example, trade article generator application 129 may be usedfor marketing campaigns. A financial institute, e.g., a bank or broker,may promote structures in a seamless fashion that allows the generationof personalized trade idea proposals and/or term sheets for structuresthe financial institute is marketing.

In another example, trade article generator application 129 may be usedfor Client Relations Management (CRM). A user, e.g., any sales person onthe desk, can see which trade ideas were proposed to a client andconduct follow up based on that history.

In another example, trade article generator application 129 may be usedfor recurring business. A user, e.g., the sales people, may userdatabase 121 to regenerate easily previous trade articles, e.g., tradeideas and/or term sheets, with new parameters.

In another example, trade article generator application 129 may be usedas a standalone service. For example, rather than initiating the processvia pricing service 123, the user may enter the deal configurationdirectly into trade article generator application 129, e.g., using tools112.

As described below, trade article generator application 129 may alloweasy branding and/or differentiation by each client, e.g., bank, byallowing the bank to incorporate their Logo, Banner, Letter Head, style,margins, colors etc.

As described below, trade article generator application 129 may allow anadministrator to create shared and/or private trade article layoutstemplates. In each trade-article layout the administrator can decidewhich widgets she wants to include, how to lay them on the page andwhich sizes she wants for each of them. Each “Layout” template may beaccessible by one or more users, e.g., based on predefined permissions.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 and/ortools 112 may include What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) editors andpreview mode; full editing capability in any stage, wizards that guidethe creation and editing of widgets step by step, and the like.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 may includea full set of default content elements that describe in detail eachpossible trade article with different permutations in differentlanguages. User 102 may edit each of these default content elementsand/or create their own content elements, as described below withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The content elements can be deal-specific orgeneric with “placeholders”, as described below.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 may receivea particular structure of a trade and select the most appropriatecontent for the particular structure based, for example, on one or moreattributes of the trade, e.g., as described below. Trade articlegenerator application 129 may differentiate and support parameterizationat an arbitrarily fine granularity, thus allowing potentially thecreation of highly specialized and targeted trade ideas and/or termsheets. Trade article generator application 129 may select the mostappropriate content based, for example, on the user's preferences andsupports having content at the default level, the bank's level or evenindividual users who can contribute their own content. Trade articlegenerator application 129 may then replace “placeholders” in the chosentrade idea and/or term sheet with actual values corresponding to theparticular trade. This may allow using content elements, which at runtime will decide the wording based on the trade's specific parameters,e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 may befully integrated with pricing service 144, allowing the flow of modeledstructures from pricing service 144 to trade article generatorapplication 12, and vice versa. Trade article generator application 129may also be integrated with trading service 143, allowing a client togenerate a Request For Quote from a trade idea generated by tradearticle generator application 129. Trade article generator application129 may also be integrated with a suitable Chat system to allow a userto generate a trade article in any format and then send it via the Chatsystem to the client.

Reference is also made to FIG. 2, which schematically illustrates atrade article 200, in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, trader article 200 may be automatically generated bytrade-article generation application 129.

As shown in FIG. 2, trade article 200 may include a trade-article layoutportion (“surface”) 210, which may be based on a predefinedtrade-article layout template, e.g., as described below. Trade article200 may also include a header portion 204, a footer portion 202, a rightmargin portion 208, and/or a left margin portion 206. Trade-articlegenerator application 129 may define one or more layout attributes oftrade-article 200 based on the predefined master page, e.g., asdescribed below. For example, header portion 212 may include anysuitable header content 212 and/or any suitable logo 214; and/or footerportion 202 may include any suitable footer content 246 and/or logo 248,e.g., as described below.

One or more trade articles may share a generic layout master page(“master page”), e.g., as described below. Trade article surface 210 maybe customized for each specific trade article. The user may be able toedit surface 210 by changing location, text, use additional or differentplaceholders, and the like, e.g., as described herein. There may be adedicated Master page per language. A client, e.g., a bank, canoptionally customize the master page and trade articles.

In some embodiments, tools 112 (FIG. 1) may be configured to allow user102 (FIG. 1) to edit a trade-article layout template to fit to its ownneeds or to create a new trade article layout template if none exist forthe scenario in which he is trying to generate a trade article for. Ifno pre-defined trade-article template exists, then tools 112 (FIG. 1)may prompt user 102 (FIG. 1) with an appropriate message.

In some embodiments, the trade article layout may be customized todefine, for example, which content elements are to be used, what istheir location, properties, default values, and the like, e.g., asdescribed below. Different authorization levels may be defined forupdating the trade article layout template and/or the master page. Inone example, master-pages may be customized by an administrator only(customer admin); and/or trade article layout templates may becustomized by all types of users (either admin or common user).

In some embodiments, trade article 200 may be formatted in any suitablelanguage, e.g., one or more of the following languages: English; German;Italian; French; Spanish; Japanese, and the like. Trade articlegenerator application 129 (FIG. 1) may select the layout template to beused for generating trade article 200 based, for example, on the user'slanguage property. For example, a layout template with an identicallanguage to the user's selected language may be used. If no layouttemplate with identical language is found, then trade article generatorapplication 129 (FIG. 1) may use a predefined default language, e.g.,English. Different sets of layout templates may be defined, for example,for different languages.

In some embodiments, the trade idea layout template may include thedefinition of meta-data, e.g., including one or more of: [1] whichsections are used in the trade article; [2] The accessible resourcesthat the content elements can use; and [3] The instance data thatdescribes the location of each of the content elements and itsproperties.

In some embodiments, layout portion 210 may include one or more sectionsto include one or more respective content elements. The section's heightand/or width may be dynamically customized. The user can modify thelocation of the sections on surface 210 using, for example, “drag &drop”.

For example, layout portion 210 may include sections 216, 222, 224, 226,228, 230 and/or 231 to include content elements 218, 242, 244, 232, 238,236 and/or 233, respectively. One or more attributes, e.g., thedimensions, layout color, font, and the like, of sections 216, 222, 224,226, 228, 230 and/or 231 may be defined and/or configured based on thetrade-article layout, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, content elements 218, 242, 244, 232, 238, 236and/or 233 may include any suitable predefined content, for example:

-   -   Client's underlying business exposure or investment goal;    -   Overall market conditions;    -   Detailed parameterized outline of each one of the composing        financial instruments. Such outline may include parameters such        as strike-price, expiry date, notional amount, and the like;    -   Outcome/payout description and analysis of the trade (strategy)        under different eventual market scenarios, trade variations,        bank and client actions;    -   Analysis of how the trade addresses a predefined exposure,        hedging situation and/or goal;    -   Advantages of the trade;    -   Disadvantages of the trade;    -   Risk profile analysis;    -   Cost and payment terms;    -   Comparison to one or more other trade strategies;    -   Various sensitivity simulation analyses vs. parameters such as        time horizon, transaction variations (e.g., strike prices), and        market scenarios (interest rates level, currency exchange rate,        and the like);    -   Contractual, regulatory and/or legal terms and/or disclaimers;    -   Marketing and branding information about the financial        institute, e.g., bank/broker; and/or    -   Any other suitable content.

Content elements 218, 242, 244, 232, 238, 236 and/or 233 may include thecontent in any suitable text, diagrams, images and/or any other suitabletextual and/or graphical content.

In one embodiment, section 216 may include an “outline” section andcontent element 218 may include content relating to an outline of thetrade; section 222 may include a “pricing” section and content element242 may include content relating to pricing parameters of the trade;section 228 may include an “advantages” section and content element 238may include content describing advantages of the trade; section 230 mayinclude a “disadvantages” section and content element 236 may includecontent describing advantages of the trade; section 226 may include a“payout” section and content 232 may include content analyzing a payoutof the trade; section 231 may include a “disclaimer” section and contentelement 233 may include one or more legal and/or financial disclaimers.In other embodiment, layout portion 210 may include any other number ofsections and/or one or more of sections 216, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 and231 may include any other suitable type of section. For example, one ormore of sections 216, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230 and 231 may include a“structure” section including content describing a structure of thetrade; a “result” section including content describing one or morepossible results of the trade; a summary section including contentsummarizing aspects of the trade; a “comparison” section includingcontent comparing the trade to one or more other strategies and/ortrades; a “risk analysis” section including content relating to a riskanalysis of the trade; a “terms” section including content describingterms of the trade, e.g., payment and/or cost terms; and/or any othersuitable section.

In some embodiments, one or more of content elements 218, 242, 240, 232,238, 236 and 233 may include one or more chart elements including one ormore charts corresponding to the trade. For example, one or more ofcontent elements 218, 242, 240, 232, 238, 236 and 233 may include apayout chart, a risk analysis chart, and the like.

In some embodiments, application 129 may determine the content to beincluded in one or more of the sections based on one or more attributesof the trade. In one embodiment, based on one or more attributes of thetrade, trade-article generator application 129 may automatically selectfrom a plurality of predefined content elements corresponding to asection a content element to be included within the section, e.g., asdescribed below. For example, if section 228 includes the “advantages”section, then trade-article generator application 129 may automaticallyselect content element 238 from a plurality of predefined “advantages”content elements relating to a plurality of respective scenarios, asdescribed below.

As described in detail below, trade-article generator application 129may determine a trade scenario corresponding to the input trade based onone or more attributes of the input trade. Based on the trade scenariocorresponding to the input trade, trade-article generator application129 may determine one or more content elements to be included in thetrade article and generate a trade definition textual and graphicaldescription in formal words and customized layout.

As further described below, for each section there may be one or morepredefined content, e.g., corresponding to different scenarios, e.g.,corresponding to a combination of on one or more of:

-   -   The parameters of the trade and its composing financial        instruments such as Asset Class (FX/IR/ . . . ), Option Class        (Vanilla, Vanilla Straddle, Forward Extra, . . . ), Buy/Sell        (for one leg or a strategy);    -   Selected language;    -   User/Client/Bank;    -   End-client category; and/or    -   Any other suitable attribute.

In some embodiments, application 129 may determine the content to beincluded in one or more of the sections based on a language definitionby user 102, e.g., such that the section includes content in a languagedefined by user 102, e.g., as defined below.

In some embodiments, for at least one section of the plurality ofsections in the trade-article layout, database 121 may store a pluralityof scenario-related content elements 123 corresponding a respectiveplurality of scenarios. A scenario may be defined based on a combinationof one or more predefined attributes, for example, trade attributesand/or user-defined attributes, e.g., language. For example, eachscenario may include a different combination of one or more attributesselected from one or more predefined sets of attribute types.

In one embodiment, the scenario may include a combination of fourtrade-related attribute types, for example, an asset-type attribute, anderivative-strategy group (also referred to as “option group”)attribute, a derivative class (also referred to as “option class”)attribute, and a transaction (“deal properties”) attribute; and alanguage attribute. In other embodiment, the scenario any other suitablecombination of any suitable attribute types.

The asset type attribute may include, for example, Interest Rate (IR),Equity (EQ), Commodity (CM), Foreign Exchange (Fx), Credit (CD), and thelike.

The option group attribute may include, for example, option groupattributes corresponding to the asset type attribute. For example, theoption group attribute may include barrier, cap/floor strategies, CMS,structured notes, structured swaps, swap, swaptions, vanilla, and thelike, with respect to the IR asset; Asian, vanilla, vanilla strategy,variance swaps, and the like, with respect to the EQ asset; Asian, Asianstrategy, Asian strip, Asian strip strategy, barrier, basket, binary,multi assets, quanto, single swap, swaption, vanilla, vanilla strategy,vanilla strip, and the like, with relation to the CM asset;accrual/floaters, accumulator, average options, barrier, basket, binary,cash deals, chooser, compounds, cross-asset barrier, deposit notes,European digital, fader, forward start, forward structures, loanrelated, multi-period barriers, partial/window barrier, quanto,structured products, tarn, vanilla, vanilla strategy, and the like, withrespect to the Fx asset; and/or any other suitable option group.

The option class attribute may include, for example, risk reversal,butterfly, cap, vanilla, floor, knock in, knock out, double knock in,double knock out, and/or derivative strategy.

The deal properties may include, for example, a combination of one ormore of the following, e.g., for each structure “leg”: buy, sell, call,put, fixed, floating, pay, receive, and the like.

The language attribute may be selected from a list of predefinedlanguages, e.g., English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, and thelike.

A scenario may include a combination of only some or all of theattributes. For example, a first scenario may include the combination“Fx; risk reversal; English; Buy Call (first leg); Sell put (secondleg)”. A second scenario may include the broader combination of “Fx;Risk reversal; French”.

In some embodiments, application 129 and/or interface 110 may provideusers 102 with the ability to define one or more scenarios and/orcontent elements corresponding to the scenarios. For example, interface110 may provide user 102 with a content definition tool 300, as shown inFIG. 3, allowing the ability to define a scenario by selecting one ormore of the scenario attributes from a list of predefined attributes.Content definition tool 300 may also allow user 102 to define a contentelement corresponding to the selected attribute and to a selectedsection. For example, interface 110 may allow the user to define an“advantages” section corresponding to the scenario “Fx; risk reversal;English; Buy Call (first leg); Sell put (second leg)”. The definedscenario and/or the defined content element corresponding to thescenario may be stored in database 121. Accordingly, interface 110 mayallow defining a plurality of scenarios and a plurality of contentelements corresponding to the scenarios and to the different sections ofthe trade article. For example, a plurality of “outline” contentelements may be defined with respect to a plurality of respectivescenarios, e.g., such that each “outline” content element includescontent customized to the specific scenario.

In some embodiments, when generating a customized trade articlecorresponding to a specific trade, application 129 may select a contentelement to be included in a section from the plurality of predefinedcontent elements corresponding to the section, based on a scenariocorresponding to the trade, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, application 129 may determine the asset type andderivative-strategy group type corresponding to the trade; select fromthe plurality of predefined scenarios one or more scenarios including atleast the same asset type and the same derivative-strategy group type asthe asset type and derivative-strategy group type of the trade,respectively; prioritize the selected scenarios based on predefinedprioritization criterion; and select from the plurality of predefinedcontent elements corresponding to the selected scenarios the contentelement to be included in a section of the trade-article layout based onthe prioritized scenarios, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, one or more of the content elements to be includedin the trade article may include one or more “placeholders” identifyingtrade-related parameters to be inserted. For example, the placeholdersmay identify one or more known-parameter-values, e.g., strike price,currency type, amount and/or value of underlying asset, spot price,forward rate, date, and the like, which may be deduced, for example,from the XML structure that defines the trade. For example, contentelement 242 may include one or more placeholders 243 identifyingtrade-related parameters related to the content of section 222; contentelement 224 may include one or more placeholders 244 identifyingtrade-related parameters related to the content of section 224; and/orcontent element 232 may include one or more placeholders 234 identifyingtrade-related parameters related to the content of section 232. Forexample, if section 222 includes the “pricing” section, thenplaceholders 243 may indicate a spot price, a forward price, a maturitydate, and or an amount to be inserted as part of content element 242based on the specific trade-information of the trade.

In some embodiments, when generating the customized trade articlecorresponding to the trade, trade-article generator 129 may insert thespecific values of the trade-related parameters into the one or moreplaceholders, thereby to automatically generate the content elementsincluding the specific data of the trade, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, trade-article generator application 129 may provideuser 102 with a plurality of predefined trade-article “preview” layouts,and may generate the customized electronic trade article based on aselected trade-article layout, which is selected by user 102 from theplurality of layouts. For example, the different selected trade-articlelayouts may include different sections and/or different arrangements ofthe sections, e.g., as described below.

In some embodiments, tools 112 may allow user 112 to redefine one ormore of the sections of the customized trade article, e.g., by editingthe content elements of one or more of the sections, formatting one ormore of the sections, formatting the header, footer and/or margins, andthe like. Based on instructions received from user 102 via tools 112,trade-article generator application 129 may reconfigure the tradearticle.

In some embodiments, trade-article generator application 129 may defineone or more layout attributes of the trade-article layout based on apredefined layout master page, e.g., as described below.

Reference is made to FIG. 4, which schematically illustrates a method ofgenerating a customized trade article, in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments. In one embodiment, one or more operations ofthe method of FIG. 4 may be performed by trade article generatorapplication 129 (FIG. 1) to generate a customized trade article, e.g.,trade article 200 (FIG. 2) corresponding to at least one trade, e.g., asdefined and/or structured by user 102 (FIG. 1) and/orcustomized-structuring application 183 (FIG. 1).

As indicated at block 401, the method may include defining and/orstructuring at least one trade. For example, user 102 (FIG. 1) maydefine and/or structure a trade using interface 110 (FIG. 1), structureservice 147 (FIG. 1) and/or customized structure application 183 (FIG.1), e.g., as described above.

As indicated at block 402, the method may include initiating thegeneration of a customized trade article corresponding to the definedtrade. For example, trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) maybe provided with trade information corresponding to the trade and/oruser information corresponding to user 102 (FIG. 1). In one embodiment,the trade information may include parameters defining the trade, e.g.,received from structure service 147 (FIG. 1) and/or customizedstructuring application 183 (FIG. 1), and/or pricing informationcorresponding to the trade, e.g., received from pricing service 144(FIG. 1), as described above. The user information may include, forexample, information identifying the user, an organization, e.g., bank,to which the user belongs, a language defined by the user, userpreferences defined by the user, and the like.

As indicated at block 404, the method may include determining whether ornot the input trade includes a structured trade, which includes aplurality of financial instruments, or a single-instrument trade.

As indicated at block 408, the method may include analyzing the tradeinformation to determine one or more attributes of the trade, e.g., ifthe input trade is a single-instrument trade. For example, the analysismay include determining the asset type of the trade and/or the optionclass of the trade, e.g., as described above. For example, if the tradeincludes the buying of an Fx vanilla call, then trade article generatorapplication may identify that the asset of the trade is Fx, and that theoption class of the trade is vanilla.

As indicated at block 410, the method may include selecting andprioritizing one or more scenarios from a plurality of predefinedscenarios, based on the trade information.

In some embodiments, trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1)may select out of the plurality of predefined scenarios stored indatabase 121 (FIG. 1) a set of one or more scenarios having an assettype attribute and an option class attribute matching the asset typeattribute and an option class attribute of the trade, e.g., as describedabove.

Trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may remove from the setof scenarios the scenarios that have attributes, e.g., deal propertiesand/or language properties, different than the attributes of the trade.For example, if the includes the buying of an Fx vanilla call and theuser-defined language is English, then trade article generatorapplication 129 (FIG. 1) may remove from the set of scenarios a scenarioincluding selling an Fx vanilla call, a scenario including buying an Fxvanilla put, a scenario in the German language relating to the buying ofan Fx vanilla call, and the like. Accordingly, the remaining set ofscenarios may include scenarios having attributes that match theattributes of the trade.

Trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may prioritize the setof scenarios according to predefined prioritization criteria. Forexample, a first scenario having a first number of attributes matchingthe attributes of the trade may be assigned with a lower prioritizationweight compared to a second scenario having a second number, greaterthan the first number, of attributes of attributes matching theattributes of the trade. For example, if the trade includes the buyingof an Fx vanilla call and the user-defined language is English then afirst English scenario relating only to the Fx asset type attribute mayhave a lower prioritization weight than a second English scenariorelating generally to an Fx vanilla; which in turn may have a lowerprioritization weight than a third English scenario relating to an Fxvanilla call; which in turn may have a lower prioritization weight thanand a fourth English scenario relating to the buying of an Fx vanillacall.

As indicated at block 412, the method may include determining contentelements to be included in the customized trade article based on theprioritized set of scenarios.

In some embodiments, for each section of the sections to be included inthe trade article, trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) mayselect the content element to be included in the section from theplurality of predefined content elements, e.g., based on the prioritizedset of scenarios. For example, trade article generator application 129(FIG. 1) may first attempt to fill the required sections with thecontent elements corresponding to the scenario having the highestpriority weight; if there are one or more remaining sections, for whichcontent elements corresponding to the scenario of the highest priorityweight, which were not found, then trade article generator application129 (FIG. 1) may determine whether the content elements corresponding tothe scenario having the second-highest priority weight include contentelements corresponding to the remaining sections; if there are one ormore still-remaining sections, for which content elements were still notfound, then trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) maydetermine whether the content elements corresponding to the scenariohaving the third-highest priority weight include content elementscorresponding to the still-remaining sections; and so on, e.g., untilcontent elements are found for all required sections, and/or until thecontent elements of all the scenarios have been checked. If, forexample, all content elements of all the scenarios have been checked andthere are still one or more sections, for which no content element hasbeen found, then trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may,for example, leave the section empty and/or include in the sectionpredefined default content, or an error message.

In one example, section 216 (FIG. 2) includes an “outline” section,section 222 (FIG. 2) includes a “pricing” section, section 228 (FIG. 2)includes an “advantages” section, section 230 (FIG. 2) includes a“disadvantages” section, section 226 (FIG. 2) includes a “payout”section, and section 231 (FIG. 2) includes a “disclaimer” section, e.g.,as described above with reference to FIG. 2. According to this example,trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may determine which ofthe content elements corresponding to the fourth English scenario may beincluded in sections 218, 222, 224, 226, 228 and/or 230 (FIG. 2).

If, for example, the content elements corresponding to the fourthEnglish scenario include all of the outline, pricing, advantages,disadvantages, payout, and disclaimer content elements, then tradearticle generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may generate trade article200 (FIG. 2) based only on the content elements corresponding to thefourth English scenario. However, if the content elements correspondingto the fourth English scenario do not include one or more of theoutline, pricing, advantages, disadvantages, payout, and disclaimercontent elements, then trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1)may determine which, if any, of the content elements corresponding tothe third English scenario match the remaining unfilled sections. If oneor more of the outline, pricing, advantages, disadvantages, payout, anddisclaimer content elements are not found in both the fourth and thirdscenarios, then trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) maydetermine which, if any, of the content elements corresponding to thesecond English scenario match the remaining unfilled sections, and soon.

In one example, the plurality of content elements include outline,pricing, advantages, disadvantages, payout, and disclaimer contentelements corresponding to the first scenario; outline, pricing,advantages, disadvantages, and disclaimer content elements correspondingto the second scenario; outline and pricing content elementscorresponding to the third scenario; and pricing, advantages, anddisadvantages content elements corresponding to the fourth scenario.According to this example, trade article generator application 129(FIG. 1) may define “outline” content element 218 (FIG. 2) to includethe outline content element corresponding to the third scenario,“pricing” content element 243 (FIG. 2) to include the outline contentelement corresponding to the fourth scenario, “advantages” contentelement 238 (FIG. 2) to include the advantages content elementcorresponding to the fourth scenario, “disadvantages” content element236 (FIG. 2) to include the disadvantages content element correspondingto the fourth scenario, “payout” content element 232 (FIG. 2) to includethe payout content element corresponding to the first scenario, and“disclaimer” content element 233 (FIG. 2) to include the disclaimercontent element corresponding to the second scenario.

As indicated at block 406, the method may include determining apredefined structure scenario matching the trade, e.g., if the tradeincludes a structured trade. For example, content definition toll 300(FIG. 3) may allow the user to define a plurality of content elementscorresponding to a plurality of structures, and trade article generatorapplication 129 (FIG. 1) may search for predefined content elementscorresponding to the structure of the trade.

As indicated at block 416, the method may include inserting values oftrade-related parameters corresponding to the trade into one or moreplaceholders of the selected content elements. For example, tradearticle generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may insert the trade-relatedparameters of the trade into one or more of placeholders 243, 244 and234 (FIG. 2) of the selected content elements 242, 240, and 232 (FIG.2), respectively.

As indicated at block 418, the method may include retrieving one or moretrade-article layouts and/or one or more master pages corresponding tothe user. For example, trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1)may determine the trade article layout and/or the master page o beimplemented for generating the customized trade article, for example,based on the trade information and/or the user information.

In one embodiment, when a user generates a trade article, trade articlegenerator application 129 (FIG. 1) may determine the trade articlelayout and/or master page to be used, for example, for at least part ofthe following info:

-   -   Instrument+Context (page data, language, customer id,        long/short);    -   Bank-Specific Master page or general Master page;    -   Bank-Specific TradeIdea layout template or general TradeIdea        layout template;    -   Default language is English. If no layout template with the        required language defined, the English version will be used;

The determined trade article layout may define the one or more sectionsto be included in the customized trade article, e.g., as described abovewith reference to FIG. 2.

As indicated at block 418, the method may include generating thecustomized trade article. For example, trade article generatorapplication 129 (FIG. 1) may configure the trade-article based on theselected master page and the selected trade-article layout. Tradearticle generator application 129 (FIG. 1) may insert into the sectionsof the trade-article layout the selected content elements including thetrade-related parameters inserted in the placeholders, e.g., asdescribed above with reference to blocks 412 and 414.

Reference is made to FIG. 5, which schematically illustrates acustomized structuring interface tool 500, in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments. In one embodiment, interface tool 500 may beimplemented as part of interface 110 (FIG. 1), e.g., to interfacebetween user 102 (FIG. 1) and customized structuring application 183(FIG. 1).

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may allow a user to define aplurality of Fx strategy parameters for which customized structuringapplication 183 (FIG. 1) is to provide one or more suggested structuredtrades, e.g., as described above.

As shown in FIG. 5, interface tool 500 may include a first currencyinput 502 to receive from the user a definition of a base (“home”)currency, and a second currency input 504 to receive from the user adefinition of a currency to be hedged. For example, the user may inputthe string “US” to currency input 502 and the string “JPY” to currencyinput 504, e.g., if the user wishes to define a hedging strategyrelating to the currency pair US dollar-Japanese Yen.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a spot rate input506 to receive a current spot level of the currency pair defined byinputs 502 and 504.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include an expiry date input510 to receive from the user a date in which the underlying exposure isdue to be paid or received.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a spot rate input508 to receive form the user an input indicating whether at the expirydate the user is committed to receive or pay the hedged currency ofinput 504.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include an amount input 512to receive from the user the notional of the exposure in the hedgedcurrency defined by input 504.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a maximum hedgingcost input 514 to receive from the user a maximal premium the user iswilling to pay for the hedging.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a maximum allowedloss input 516 to receive from the user a maximal amount of money theuser is prepared to lose as a result from the hedge.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a spot range input518 to receive from the user a requested spot range.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a “suggeststrategies” instruction input 520 to allow the user to instructcustomized structuring application 183 (FIG. 1) to determine the one ormore suggested customized structures based on the input provided by theuser.

In some embodiments, interface tool 500 may include a “create tradearticle” instruction input 521, e.g., in the form of an instructionbutton, to allow the user to instruct customized structuring application183 (FIG. 1) and/or trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) toautomatically provide to the user one or more trade articles, e.g.,trade ideas, analyzing the one or more suggested customized structures.For example, after providing inputs 50, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512, 514,516 and/or 518, the user may use instruction input 521 to causecustomized structuring application 183 (FIG. 1) to automatically providethe one or more suggested customized structures to trade articlegenerator application 129 (FIG. 1), which in turn may automaticallygenerate the one or more customized trade articles, e.g., as describedabove.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which schematically illustrates amaster page layout 500, in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments. In one embodiment, master page layout 500 may be utilizedby trade-article generation application 129 (FIG. 1) to configure tradearticle 200 (FIG. 2, e.g., as described above.

In some embodiments, master page layout 600 may include a plurality ofcustomizable components that can be customized by user 102 (FIG. 1),e.g., to fit to its own document layout. Each of the customizedsubcomponent may appear, for example, on each page. The trade ideasurface may be dynamic and may change based on the trade idea context(Option class, etc.). Text that is used in one or more of the componentscan include parameters such as date, time, page number, etc.

In some embodiments, master page 600 may be used either in quarto or A4pages, the difference will be reflected by the size of the Landscapelogo zone, which is smaller in a quarto page. The Master Page size canbe defined in the Master page definition (default: A4).

In some embodiments, general properties define theme values that will beused while using master page 600, i.e., the general property values thatare defined in the master page level will be used as the defaults forall the used components within the page, for example, as follows:

-   -   1. Language ID;    -   2. Header Font Type (used by components on the Trade Idea        Surface);    -   3. Header Font Size;    -   4. Header Font Color;    -   5. Use underline for headers (Yes/No);    -   6. Header underline color; and/or    -   7. Disclaimer properties (based on all font properties with        additional disclaimer text). If a disclaimer is defined, it will        automatically be added to the end of the generated document at        the last page of the Trade Idea—as part of the Trade Idea        Surface.

As shown in FIG. 7, trade article generator application 129 (FIG. 1) mayprovide a default master page and/or a default trade idea template,e.g., for different scenarios. If multiple languages are used, eachlanguage has a dedicated set of templates. The user may customize themaster page and/or the trade idea template to fit it to its own needs.In such case a new template is generated based on the original one.

The user may perform, for example, one or more of the followingmodifications to the master page and/or template:

Trade Idea Template Master Page In Use In Use No modification doneDefault as supplied by Default as supplied by application 129application 129 Customer modified the Customer-specific Default assupplied by Master Page Master Page application 129 Customer modifiedthe Default as supplied by Customer-specific Trade Idea Templateapplication 129 Template Customer modified both Customer-specificCustomer-specific the Master Page and the Master Page Template TradeIdea Template

The selection of the template to be used by application 129 (FIG. 1) forthe trade idea generation may be made, for example, using the followingrules for each option:

Master Page Selection:

-   -   Application 129 (FIG. 1) checks if a Master Page template of the        user's company with his selected language exists.    -   If no, Application 129 (FIG. 1) checks if a Master Page template        with his selected language with the default company exists.    -   If no, Application 129 (FIG. 1) takes the default Master Page        template, meaning, default language (English) and default        company.

Trade Idea Layout Template Selection:

-   -   Application 129 (FIG. 1) checks if a template of the user's        company with his selected language exists.    -   If no, Application 129 (FIG. 1) checks if a template with his        selected language with the default company exist.    -   If no, Application 129 (FIG. 1) takes the default Master Page        template, meaning, default language (English) and default        company.

The Header zone may be located at the top of the page aligned tocenter/left/right corners of the heading place, dependent on the user'sdecision and mostly based on the location of the logo if such is used.The user may define one or more of the following values in the header:

-   -   Header Text;    -   Header Font Type;    -   Header Font Size;    -   Header Font Color;    -   Header Foreground Color and/or    -   Header Alignment—Left, Center or Right.

The footer zone may be located at the bottom of the page. It can belocated at the center/left/right corners of the heading place, dependenton the user's decision. The user can define similar values as definedfor the header to be used in the footer: Text, Font, Size, Color,Foreground Color and alignment.

The logo may be located on top of the header zone and therefore theheader foreground color wraps it. The logo zone may be fixed in size andtherefore the user should supply a logo with the predefined size to fitinto the page. The user may adjust his logo to a fixed size. The logocan appear left, right or at the center of the header zone. In mostcases where it appears at the center, it replaces the header itself,which is defined as an empty header.

The landscape logo zone is optional and can appear in one of thefollowing locations: Left, Right, Both Left&Right, None.

There may be a fixed size for the logo for different cases. The size ofthe left landscape logo might be different than the size of the rightlandscape logo.

FIGS. 8-12 are schematic block diagram illustrations of interfacecomponents and trade idea generation tools in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments. For example, the user interface allows theuser to define a transaction (FIG. 8A); and to receive a customizedtrade idea (FIG. 8B) corresponding to the transaction, e.g., includingcontent elements selected based on the asset type “Fx”, the option class“Vanilla”, the English language definition, and the deal properties“Buy” and “Call”. As shown in FIG. 9 the user interface may provide theuser with a first customized trade idea corresponding to a transaction(FIG. 9); and a second customized trade idea corresponding to the sametransaction (FIG. 10); and may allow the user to select a contentelements of the selected trade idea (FIG. 11); and/or to edit thecontent element (FIG. 12).

FIGS. 13-24 are schematic block diagram illustrations of interfacecomponents and trade idea generation tools in accordance with somedemonstrative embodiments. For example, an administrator interfaceallows an administrator to edit a master page (FIG. 13); to define afooter section of the master page (FIGS. 14-16); to define a headersection of the master page (FIGS. 17-18); to define and edit a tradeidea layout template (FIG. 19); to edit an “outline” section (FIGS.20-24).

FIGS. 25-31 are schematic block diagram illustrations of content elementdefinition interface tools in accordance with some demonstrativeembodiments. For example, as shown in FIGS. 25-29, a user may define an“outline” content element corresponding to an English Fx, Barrierscenario. As shown in FIGS. 30-31, a user may define an “advantages”content element corresponding to a user-defined structured trade “BuyVanilla and sell double Knock out”. Upon structuring a trade includingattributes similar to the attributes of the “Buy Vanilla and sell doubleKnock out” structure (FIG. 32), trade article generator application 129(FIG. 1) may automatically prompt the user to select the correspondingstructure (FIG. 33).

Some embodiments of the invention, for example, may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or anembodiment including both hardware and software elements. Someembodiments may be implemented in software, which includes but is notlimited to firmware, resident software, microcode, or the like.

Furthermore, some embodiments of the invention may take the form of acomputer program product accessible from a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium providing program code for use by or inconnection with a computer or any instruction execution system. Forexample, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be or mayinclude any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate,or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

In some embodiments, the medium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus ordevice) or a propagation medium. Some demonstrative examples of acomputer-readable medium may include a semiconductor or solid statememory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random accessmemory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk, and anoptical disk. Some demonstrative examples of optical disks includecompact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write(CD-R/W), and DVD.

In some embodiments, a data processing system suitable for storingand/or executing program code may include at least one processor coupleddirectly or indirectly to memory elements, for example, through a systembus. The memory elements may include, for example, local memory employedduring actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cachememories which may provide temporary storage of at least some programcode in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved frombulk storage during execution.

In some embodiments, input/output or I/O devices (including but notlimited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) may be coupledto the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Insome embodiments, network adapters may be coupled to the system toenable the data processing system to become coupled to other dataprocessing systems or remote printers or storage devices, for example,through intervening private or public networks. In some embodiments,modems, cable modems and Ethernet cards are demonstrative examples oftypes of network adapters. Other suitable components may be used.

Functions, operations, components and/or features described herein withreference to one or more embodiments, may be combined with, or may beutilized in combination with, one or more other functions, operations,components and/or features described herein with reference to one ormore other embodiments, or vice versa.

While certain features of embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions,changes, and equivalents may occur to those skilled in the art. It is,therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended tocover all such modifications and changes.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a computing device toreceive trade information including a plurality of values of one or moretrade-related parameters defining at least one trade with respect to atleast one financial instrument, and to automatically generate acustomized electronic trade article corresponding to the trade based ona predefined trade-article layout, wherein the trade-article layoutdefines one or more sections to include one or more respective contentelements, wherein at least one of the content elements includes one ormore placeholders to present the trade-related parameters, and whereinthe computing device is to generate the customized electronic tradearticle including the one or more content elements by inserting thevalues of the trade-related parameters into the one or moreplaceholders.